A voodoo lily? A few years ago, I walked into the Belle Isle Conservatory and saw this amazing-looking plant. I thought it was so cool until I got a bit closer. The aroma of a dead animal that had been lying in the middle of the road in a heatwave met my nostrils. Yuck! Did you know the Amorphophallus smelled awful? Trust me, it does.

Voodoo Lily Background

Someone loaned the conservatory their voodoo lily (Amorphophallus konjac). They were happy to do so. The smell would be too much in a home. This plant is also known as the devil’s tongue, snake palm, black lily of the Nile, and elephant yam. It is native to tropical Asia, Japan, and China. In those countries, the tuber is used to make flour and jelly. Since it has no calories but is high in fiber, it is often used in diet foods. It is also used for its various medicinal properties.

Voodoo Lily in the Aroid Family

The voodoo lily is in the aroid family. Other family members include spathiphyllum lilies, anthuriums, and philodendrons. The plant grows approximately. 5-6 feet tall, flowering in the late winter. About a month after flowering, it sends up a single leaf that will grow all summer to replenish the tuber. The inflorescence consists of a spathe that surrounds the actual flower, or spadix.  After flowering, it dies down in the fall and rests until it wakes up again the next spring. I have read that it may not flower again for years, but I don’t know that for sure.

Why such a horrible smell?

I was not there when the aroma was at its strongest, as it only smells bad for approximately 3 days. The smell compares to rotting flesh or roadkill on a hot summer day. Yuck! Why would a flower smell like a dead animal? Because its pollinators are flies. Read here about other plants that attract flies for pollination.

Voodoo Lily Pollination

The pollination must happen the same day the spathe opens. That is why the smell of the flower is the strongest on the first day. The flowers are actually on a spadix, surrounded by a spathe. They are monoecious flowers, meaning the male and female flowers are on the same plant. The plant does not self-pollinate because the male and female flowers are not open at the same time. There are warts or ridges on the spathe that trap the flies in the plant. That way, the flower gets pollinated as the flowers open at different times.

Isn’t it amazing how nature works, each plant reproducing itself however it needs to, even if that means smelling like rotting flesh to attract flies to pollinate it.

It is such a cool plant and a big thank-you to the person that loaned it to the conservatory. It really was a crowd-pleaser.

Have a great week, plant friends!